THIRD ROW FOR ALEIX ESPARGARÓ, LIMITED BY PHYSICAL PROBLEMS
Aleix Espargaró continues to grit his teeth, having deal with a painful and seriously limiting injury once again on Saturday at Silverstone. A spot on the third row, earned with his ninth place time in qualifying, is an extraordinary result in light of Aleix’s physical problems and confirms the good level that the Aprilia RS-GP has achieved on the English circuit. Aleix, monitored constantly by the Mobile Clinic, chose not to go out for FP3 on damp asphalt, having already clinched a spot in Q2 with his excellent performance yesterday. Instead, he turned nine laps in FP4, in preparation for the race.
The Spanish rider’s conditions will be assessed tomorrow morning, with his difficulty breathing over the long distance being the primary problem to take into account.
It was a complicated qualifying session for Sam Lowes who was unable to turn a perfect lap with the soft tyre. The English rider’s confidence is based primarily on the work he has done in view of the race, which culminated with an excellent demonstration of consistency in FP4. The goal of finishing in the points is certainly within Sam’s reach, warmly supported by his home fans.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“Today was very difficult. I have had other injuries in my career, but none that have limited me this much. I have a lot of pain in my side, especially in the direction changes after a couple of laps. We are doing as much as possible with the Clinic, but since it is an internal problem, we cannot use infiltrations. By rationing my strength today I was able in any case to lap well, earning a good spot on the starting grid, and in general I am satisfied with the speed we have shown here at Silverstone. All I can do now is rest and tomorrow morning we will assess the situation.”
SAM LOWES
“FP4 went rather well. We made a lot of significant changes to the RS-GP and found a good setup with the hard tyre, so in race configuration. I am able to maintain a good pace easily. I feel at ease on the bike and I am confident that I will be able to battle for the points zone. Qualifying, on the other hand, was difficult. I did not have the right feeling with the soft tyre, losing a few tenths. In any case, tomorrow we have the potential to do a good race.”
